


It's All in the Asking

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Series: The Details [2]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Canon-typical discussions of violence, Collars, Dom/sub, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:54:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: Rule #1, Rafael has to keep himself safe.





	It's All in the Asking

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is a series or a "series." I just know this second story happened.

Whether they want to or not, they're going to make the drive to Five Points. There's a perp on a 15-year stretch who says he's made friends with Davis Carlson. Barba had put him away eighteen months ago for raping a store clerk. The perp told his lawyer Carlson had confessed to four more rapes while they were shooting the shit one night, and while the perp was also in for rape, Carlson had confessed that he was certain one of his victims had been underage.

"Ah, the ever delicate line between rapist and bad-rapist," Barba quips when Liv tells him and Sonny about the information. 

"I know," Liv says with a sigh.

"But if we get him on even one more, that's double his sentence," Sonny says. "And I'll take that over the eight he's serving."

"I'm right here" Barba says. 

"Nah, counselor, you did great," Sonny says with a wave. "The problem's the way the laws are written, not in anything you did." 

Liv is almost certain Barba stands a little straighter at that, but she's almost as certain she's imagining it. Sonny and Barba are disclosed and somewhere in early year two in their relationship, and they're nothing but friendly and professional on the clock. He was probably just adjusting his grip on his briefcase. "Do what you can. Carisi, you're there for SVU, so don't try to be a lawyer."

"Aww, c'mon, Lieu. I do a great lawyer!" 

Liv can't help her laugh. She notices Barba can't either. "Well, try to hold back."

"I'll do my best," Sonny says with his usual sincerity, and they start to discuss what time to leave the next morning.

*

At home that night, Rafael lays in bed naked and runs his fingers back and forth over the silver chain that holds his Lady Justice medal. He can hear Sonny finishing the dishes in the kitchen, and his skin tingles when the water turns off. His mouth goes dry as he listens to Sonny walk down the hall, and he has to breathe deep to keep himself calm.

Sonny walks into the bedroom and pulls his t-shirt over his head. He glances at Rafael and pauses, reading him in a sharp glance that feels possessive and safe all at once. "What is it?" Sonny asks, his tone soft. 

Rafael runs his medal back and forth on its chain and tries to talk, but his throat is tight. He clears it, but it doesn't help.

"Look at me," Sonny says.

Rafael meets his eyes. Sonny's radiating love and support and warmth. Rafael stops running the medal along the chain, but it's still hard to speak. "I want…" he gets out. 

"Good start," Sonny says. He sits on the bed next to Rafael and lays his hand on Rafael's abdomen. "I like to give you what you want, but you have to say what it is." 

The part of Rafael that feels foolish and scared to ask gets a little smaller. It lets Rafael clear his throat for real this time. He licks his lips and tries again. "I want my collar. My leather one." 

Sonny considers him, reaching up to touch his fingers to the necklace Rafael wears, his de facto collar as far as they're both concerned, something he can wear in public and brush off as a sentimental gift from his boyfriend who wanted to get him a Saint's medal. "Not just for tonight," Sonny says. "You wouldn't be nervous if it was just for tonight."

He's right. Rafael doesn't have any issue asking to wear the leather collar, the one with the flat loop on the fron that lets Sonny lead him where he wants him. The one that's soft and warm when it goes on because Sonny always warms it between his hands. The one stamped with "Rafael" in gold letters because Sonny had successfully argued that no matter how much Rafael _is_ Sonny's, the collar is absolutely Rafael's. 

They have rules. There's not a lot of them, but they're ironclad. Rafael can't lie to Sonny (especially via omission). Rafael has to be direct (no skirting the edges of what's bothering him and working himself into a state). Rafael has to ask or state what he wants (there will be no confusion via guessing on Sonny's part). Rafael has to keep himself safe. 

The last one is the most difficult. Rafael's career is built on showing no fear, laughing in the face of threats, and more or less telling some very dangerous people to go fuck themselves. When they'd gotten together, Sonny had asked him to please work on his tendency to draw a bullseye between his eyes. When they'd agreed to the collar, to Sonny taking control for Rafael with Rafael's happy acceptance, Sonny had listed it as rule number one. It's been hard to keep it, and Rafael's taken more than one punishment for forgetting his promise. 

"Carlson threatened me," Rafael says. "He said he'd find my mother and rip her throat out. I dared him to try and fight her."

Sonny nods, the memory clearly coming to the forefront. "I remember," he says. "It was before we made it a rule that you don't get to do that." His tone is still warm and open. There's no censure for past mistakes, not here with Sonny leaning over him, fingers lightly tangled in Rafael's necklace. "You apologized to me as soon as you could, and then you called your mother and warned her. I was proud of you." Sonny kisses Rafael on the mouth, then pulls away enough so they can see each other. "I'm still proud of you. You've worked so hard to take better care of yourself."

Rafael takes the compliment in slowly, letting it sink into his skin like a good lotion. He can't always come up with a sincere response to Sonny's praise, but that's okay. Sonny's happy with him deflecting with a smartass remark if he needs it, but Rafael's tried hard to take the praise he knows he earns. It's okay to be proud of himself for making other people proud. It's okay to be proud of himself for taking better care. 

"Whatever this guy's going to tell us tomorrow, I want to drop in on Carlson, shake his tree and see what falls. Tell him there are rumors coming down."

"That's a good idea. He was always jumpy." Sonny lets go of Rafael's necklace and traces the tendon running down the left side of his throat. "And you need your leather collar for that?"

Rafael wants to make excuses, explain how no one will see it, but that's not the conversation to have right now. The conversation right now is about accepting he needs support. He takes a deep breath. "Yes. This usually works," he presses a hand to his Lady Justice Medal, "but I need a little more. Something I can feel more. I don't want to--" he barely stops himself from saying _do something stupid_. Sonny will make him rephrase to something more precise. "--slip into an old habit," he says instead. 

Sonny beams at him. He cups Rafael's jaw and touches their foreheads together. "I'm so proud of you," he says, and Rafael feels lit up from the inside. "You're so good for me when you're good to yourself."

Rafael shivers at the praise and opens his mouth for the languid kiss Sonny rewards him with. It's a few minutes before they pull apart. "Please, can I wear it tomorrow?" Rafael asks, the final step in how they do this. By asking, Rafael is showing he knows what he's supposed to do and is willing to do it. He's willing to please Sonny.

"Absolutely," Sonny says. He taps Rafael's medal. "I'll carry this for you tomorrow so you have it, but before you get dressed in the morning, I'll put your leather collar on. You can have it on the whole day."

"Thank you."

"Thank you." Sonny kisses Rafael again. When he pulls away this time, there's a wicked promise behind the adoration in his eyes. "Asking like that was very good. You did it so well, and you were direct. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Rafael says.

"Is there anything special you want tonight? Anything I can do for you to show you how good you've been?"

Rafael's skin tingles all over again, and he arches his hips without thinking. Sonny spoils him often and well, but getting to choose, that's an especially potent treat. He takes his time deciding. Sonny waits him out, running his hands up and down Rafael's body to remind him he's there. "Suck me off," he says. "Please," he adds just before Sonny's smile can turn teasing. He's rarely punished for skipping pleasantries, and he certainly won't be tonight, but he wants to ask the right way and earn more of that adoration in Sonny's eyes. 

"I'm happy to do that any time," Sonny replies, one hand trailing down, to cup Rafael's dick, which is half-hard and growing. "Anything else?"

"Go slowly," Rafael says because asking for a loving blow job is beyond his abilities. But Sonny's eyes soften, and the kiss he gives Rafael tells him he's read between the lines. 

"I love you," Sonny says when he pulls away from the kiss. He stands up and strips off his pajama bottoms, then climbs back on the bed. "Open your legs."

Rafael does as ordered, then pulls his legs up so his feet are flat on the covers. Sonny kisses the side of his knee, then down into the inside of his thigh to tell him he's done well. He leans up and nuzzles at Rafael's lower abdomen before dropping back down and lapping at the head of Rafael's dick. 

Rafael sighs out encouragement and tips his head back, closing his eyes. Sonny brushes a kiss over his balls, then in the curve of his hips. He noses at Rafael's dick and suckles along the big vein running along the length. When he reaches the top, he suckles just as casually at the head, tonguing underneath the flare and making Rafael gasp. 

"This is your night," Sonny says, pressing the words against Rafael's shaft. "But could I please see your eyes for a minute?"

It takes Rafael a moment to process the question. He levers himself up on his elbows and opens his eyes. Sonny's watching him already, and when he licks his lips, the edge of his tongue touches Rafael's dick. 

"You're so perfect," Sonny whispers. "This is because of how good you are." He cups Rafael's balls and rolls them gently, just enough to send shivers through Rafael's whole body. "This is because you work so hard to make me happy." Sonny drops his head and takes half of Rafael's length and doesn't break eye contact. He sucks once, twice, then pulls off almost silently. Rafael's dick bobs against his bottom lip. "You work so hard to be a better man because you love yourself." He kisses Rafael's hip joins again, slides his hands up Rafael's torso and slowly slides down again, his fingertips dragging. Rafael drops back flat on the bed and clutches the sheets. "Because you love me," Sonny says, and it's the last thing he says for several minutes.

His focus is completely on Rafael. Kissing him, touching him, sucking and letting off, fondling with exquisite care and humming in happy approval when Rafael shivers or undulates or murmurs endearments under his breath. He traces the muscles of Rafael's thighs and pushes at his legs until they're over his shoulders. He takes Rafael deep but does it slowly, lingering over every new bit of the shaft he fits in his mouth. 

Rafael thinks that if he opened his eyes and looked at the clock, time will have stopped. It's such a melodramatic romantic idea, but so are they, he thinks. He lets himself feel it, the love and the warmth and the belief Sonny holds for him. No one in Rafael's life has ever loved him like this. No one has ever seen into the quiet, wishing parts of him and been able to carefully and lovingly pull the thread that has brought them to the forefront. No one else has ever figured out how to bring Rafael into a moment of such clarity and depth that he can only be still in it and not be thinking three moves ahead. 

Not until Sonny. Brash, brilliant, beautiful Sonny who took one look at Rafael and stamped him as taken. Not that Rafael knew it at the time, but Sonny had told him later. From the first time they'd met, Sonny knew he had to know him. Not just Barba the DA, or Rafael the work friend. But to know him like he'd known no one else in his life. He'd said this to Rafael with the same casual confidence he said damn near everything. They'd been dating three weeks, and Rafael waited to feel fear, to flee the commitment, but instead, there was a sharp flare of hope. That maybe, possibly, Sonny was the one who could take the control Rafael didn't want so much of the time. The control he held tight in his fist because he'd never trusted anyone else enough to let them see how creased and worn it was.

Rafael's orgasm causes him to shiver harder, to dig his heels into Sonny's shoulders and to reach out blindly for Sonny's hands. Only one hand meets both of his, and when Rafael opens his eyes, he sees that Sonny is jerking himself off in a rhythm much more frantic than what he's using on Rafael. 

"No," Rafael gasps. He frees his left hand and grasps at open air. "No. I want--"

Sonny takes his hand off himself immediately and laces their fingers together. He doesn't ask what Rafael wants, just keeps sucking at him and licking fast under the head, and then Rafael comes with a quiet gulp of breath and a full-body shudder that makes his toes curl. Sonny swallows and licks him clean. He lingers for a moment after he pulls off, then slides up Rafael's body and drags his hard, leaking dick all the way up Rafael's abdomen. 

"Please," Rafael says, mostly wordless from his orgasm. He runs his fingers up and down his chest, and Sonny gives him another of those warm, open, loving smiles. 

"I'd do this every day if you'd let me," Sonny says, and he jerks himself to completion in four strokes, his come streaking Rafael's chest and chin. "I'd make you wear it to work." 

Rafael groans and runs his fingers through the mess. He would do it. He's offered, but Sonny's always refused. They never know if there's going to be an emergency, and Rafael in the ER with dried come on his chest is not something either of them want to explain. Rafael sucks his fingers and rolls his head side-to-side to enjoy the aftershocks of his orgasm. "Vacation," he manages to mumble.

Sonny leans over him, swiping his thumb over Rafael's chin. He slides his thumb into Rafael's mouth, and Rafael licks it clean. "Vacation?" He presses his thumb to Rafale's lower lip. "You want to go on vacation and have me come on you, and then you'll wear it?"

Rafael nods, too tired from the earlier conversation and his orgasm to do more than that. He drops his hand to his side and tips his face up for a kiss. Sonny gives it to him. 

"We'll plan something," Sonny says. "I'm going to get you some water, okay?"

Rafael murmurs assent and lets himself drift for the few moments Sonny is out of the room. He rouses himself a bit when Sonny presses a warm washcloth to his chest and wipes him clean. 

"Up," Sonny says, and he nods approval when Rafael gets himself propped up against the headboard. "You're so good," he whispers as he helps Rafael drink his water. "I'm so proud of you." 

"Love you," Rafael says.

Sonny puts the water glass aside and runs his hands up and down Rafael's arms. "Love you, too. I'm going to make sure we're locked up for the night. You need help to brush your teeth?"

"No." Rafael stands under his own power to prove it, and Sonny kisses his cheek before he leaves the room again to check the locks. 

Rafael walks into the en suite and brushes his teeth, then splashes water on his face. He looks in the mirror and stares at himself for a few seconds. His hair is a mess, his skin still flushed from sex, and his Lady Justice medal is bright just below his collarbones. Tomorrow, he'll wake up and Sonny will put on his other collar, and they'll go try to do some good in the world. 

When Rafael leaves the en suite, Sonny's back in the bedroom, pulling down the covers and plumping the pillows. 

"You'll get a chill," Sonny says, hand brushing along Rafael's arm as they cross paths.

"I'm Cuban," Rafael replies, an old, faux-argument between them. He listens to the water running, to Sonny brushing his teeth. He's under the covers when Sonny walks back in. 

Sonny turns off the overhead light and makes his way around the bed to his own side. He climbs in, and Rafael curls in close against him before he can invite him over. Sonny had promised him a long time ago that he never needed to ask to be held. There are days Rafael still has to ask, to know for absolute certain it's okay. But tonight, he feels beloved and brave and proud of himself. 

He drapes his arm over Sonny's stomach, and Sonny smoothes back his hair and kisses the top of his head, and they fall asleep like that. When they wake up, there's a faint relief of Lady Justice pressed into Sonny's shoulder, and Rafael kisses it with reverence before he gets out of bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Self-beated. Lemme know if I typoed.


End file.
